Not to get too meta here, but I must concede that Marco and Chris are correct -- it was a Sunday that I spoke to B&H on, not a Saturday. And yes, they are very much "of the faith," so do make note of their hours.

(and on an even more meta note, consider the fact that the transaction isn't over until you get the camera -- so calm your nerves with a couple of smokes until next week, when the cam is in your hands. Once you get your DVC80 you'll be far too busy to even worry about cigarrettes!)

back to OOPS.. I mean UPS.. ITs not to late. When it come in, if you live somewhere near the airport where it comes in, go pick it up. They will phone you when it comes and ask you if you want them to do the Brokerage. Say no, and you can go pick it up at the airport from customs... you just gotta fill out a short form and pay the GST (PST if you bought it personally) That will save you thier $35 brokerage fee.. its robbery. Sometimes you can get lucky and they will deliver the item first and then phone you later in the day with the same question, say no and they cant do much, in fact this happend on a shipment 2 weeks ago to me in Vancouver from BH. You just get a bill sent to you from customs that doesnt have the fee.

Congrats on the quitting smoking!

First thing to do when you get your camera...set it up on a tripod, plug in a battery to charge, get youself a pot of coffee, or six pack of whatever, and spend some serious quality time with the manual.

B&H works on Sunday -- but if you don't, that's a perfect time to follow Bill's excellent advice above. Spend a Sunday morning or afternoon with nothing else but you, the camera, the manual and your choice of beverage. Read, play and drink without distractions (hopefully you're not too much of a football fan). That's the key to learning the thing quickly.

Yes.. and when you take your camera out of the box and rock it back and forth that clicking sound is normal... dont have a heart attack like most people do. They should put a big sticker on the camera stating that.

What is it with UPS and Vancouver? I had to exchange a part with Cavision, and UPS's system kept insisiting that the address was invalid.

That's Big Brown, not B&H.

From what I've heard, UPS Vancouver has problems. I heard this from a UPS rep. I have a long list of complaints with UPS, that's why when I do use them, I do 3 things:[list=1][*]I don't use ground.[*]I insure the full value.[*]Or I go with FEDEX instead---costs more, but I never yet had any problems using FEDEX.[/list=1]

Yep, though my brother-in-law drives truck for UPS, it has been much to my dismay that B&H switched back. I love FedEx. They're quicker too.

Well I just called B&H, the reason that there was a issue was because that we just moved and our phone # did not match the address they had (they are using a 411 web site to confirm people's phone # with their address). Now as far as UPS, you guy's are going to kill me !!! LOL. I cant wait next week hopefully by Friday. I have booked 3 days off and I am going to sit and test every switch and read the manual cover to cover. I am going to but a mic when it gets here and then I have to figure out what I am going to spend my 100.00 Gift certificate on. if you have any recommendations I am all ears

thanks again for all your help
Michael M

They'll do that on major purchases to avoid fraud. It''s for your benefit too. $100 hmmmm? Lots of things...LCD hood comes to mind for starters!

$100 gift cert would be good for getting a decent shock mount for your future mic purchase. AT8415 with the hot shoe adapter maybe.

Do you have a link for the AT8415? I'd like to look at a pic, etc.

I use one with my AT822. It's quite nice, but the Beyerdynamic BEEA86 is great for hot shoes.

http://www.audiotechnica.com/guide/o...nts/index.html

So I have been checking the B&H web site to see if it has been shiped ... no luck. does anyone know how long it takes B&H to "Process" a order ? The reson i am asking is because i want to take a few days off when it gets here.

Everything I've bought from B&H that they have in stock, I usually get in 2 days, unless I pay extra for overnight Fedex. They usually say 2-4 days, but stuff has always got here in 2. That may depend on where you are or what the item is. Once I called them at around 2 in the afternoon on an emergency order of daylight bulbs and had my order the next morning (big Fedex charge, however).